Garry Newman's new game is a departure from his breakout creation, Garry's Mod, but it's still slightly familiar. Rust is a survival game that started off as aDayZ clone and transitioned into a STALKER-inspired world where players build their own buildings and defenses – and they can play however they want.

"So what's to stop you from going around killing anyone you want and taking their shit and becoming more powerful?" Newman asks. "Nothing. What's stopping it from becoming a PVP killfest? You. Our job should be to give the players the tools they need. If you're sick of getting killed – start a town. Build town walls. Give all the town members red clothes. Put warning signs up outside the town. Set up trip wires and alarms. Watch each other's back."

Rust is in alpha now, accessible here – just type in any series of numbers until the "Next" button appears in the right-hand corner of the registration box. Newman and his studio, Facepunch, are working on implementing their own assets in the game and fixing bugs, so it's still early in development.

Update: The alpha is closed, for now, so put down your keyboards and take a deep breath. Keep an eye out for updates on the Rust forums.